BY SAB OSUJI

The 2023 edition of Ifeanyi Chiejine Memorial Cup Championship comes to a fitting end Sunday, 17 December, 2023 with a crunchy Oriental Derby clash between favourites, Imo Strikers and Giant Empress from Abia State, Exclusivenews.com.ng reports.

Judith Chime, a former Super Falcons goalkeeper and tournament organiser, says the two teams represent the best advertisement for the week-long women football showpiece and she's looking forward to it with relish.

"It's gonna be a crazy final tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it", the former Nigeria shot stopper responded when probed on expectations on the Oriental Derby final match up.

No fewer than 14 teams started the championship on Monday, 11 December and now only two teams have fought their ways to the final.

"I can't wait to watch the final. I know Imo Strikers are here to take everything. Already, they have shown it that they really want everything. They are really hungry for it, working really hard for it", the Judith Soccer Foundation Management boss said.

"I don't know what Giant Empress will do (to contain the Imo Strikers) but I think it gonna be an amazing game, a real fun game to watch. But I was thinking it gonna be Delta, a return for them, but hay, God of Soccer has a way of doing its things".

She emotionally confessed her delight over the huge success of the championship which now has only two games, the final, and perhaps, the third place game bring a seven-day festival of football to an enthralling close.

"Let me be honest, I'm so impressed; I wasn't expecting this; the tournament to be like this. One thing I must say is that I'm too grateful to God for making it possible for everything to go the way it went.

"Like you said, it's now about two games to go. We started with with about twenty-something teams but today, we have just two teams standing. It has been amazing, very amazing".

Winners of Sunday's final will smile home with N500, 000, a giant trophy and medals.

First runners-up will receive N300, 000 while third placed team goes home with N200, 000, making it altogether N1m in prize money alone.

But Chime said its not just about the prize money alone.

"There's also reward for outstanding individual players like the Best Player, MVP, and Best Goalkeeper and things like that.

"But it's just not anything but just that we're trying to encourage this grassroot players, to make sure they know that we are here for them.

"We started this way and the young girl that we're celebrating her life (Ifeanyi Chiejine), actually started from the grassroot just at 16 years.

"And we can't just allow her name die. So, we are just trying to let these young ones know there's a lot to watch out for. Anything can happen".

With the huge supply of talents at the tournament, scouts would have had a field's day, but ironically, none was present and the tournament organiser gave a lucid explanation for this.

"In terms of scouts, I mean, hay, when you're doing a tournament like this and you don't have support and it's like only yourself or something only your friends are helping you to back you up to do what you love, sometimes, it's a loss on your part.

"But what I have is education. If they wanna go to school, they should let me know because that's why we're here. Even here in Nigeria, my organisation is trying to, whatever it is, if they are already in school, struggling and want something or someone to help them out, or some of them want to go to school abroad, we'll still have to try to help them go to school abroad", Chime concluded.